Spider-Gwen Vol 2 32
Supporting Characters: * * ** ** ** * Antagonists: * ** ** Numerous unidentified others ** Numerous unnamed ninja Other Characters: * ** ** *** ** Numerous unnamed officers * * * * * * * * * ** * * Joan Jett * The Blackhearts * Alanis Morissette * * * * Races and Species: * * * Locations: * ** *** **** ***** ****** ******* Midtown ******** ******* ******** ******* Upper West Side ******** ********* ****** ******* ******** **** ***** *** **** *** **** ***** *** **** *** *** **** ***** *** Items: * | Synopsis1 = In George Stacy's hospital room, Gwen Stacy sits at his bedside and holds his hand, the Venom symbiote covering them both in tiny black spiders as she listens to his electrocardiogram beep. Huddled in bed together, Mary Jane Watson and Gloria Grant are awakened by Em Jay's smartphone going off. As Em Jay tries to get up to answer it, Gloria complains that her girlfriend had the gall to set an alarm and is letting cold air under the covers. Grumbling that it's not an alarm, Em Jay says that she set up alerts to notify her about news regarding the Mary Janes and is shocked by what she sees. In his penthouse apartment, Matt Murdock is interrogated via conference call by the leaders of the Hand - who berate him for putting them at risk of exposure through his public conflicts with Spider-Woman and the Punisher. Murdock sneers at them, and when they berate and threaten him for his irreverence he tells them to bring it on and quips that he'll walk away in slow motion as they explode behind him. As the Hand leaders snap that he's nothing without them, Murdock hangs up on them and tosses his smartphone into the garbage as it starts ringing, bitterly thinking that he's seen worse than anything they can throw at him. At the Parker Residence, Ben Parker argues with May Parker, snapping that he meant every word he'd said to Gwen and would say it all again in a heartbeat; storming out of the house and stepping on a copy of the Daily Bugle outing Gwen Stacy as Spider-Woman. At the theatre, Gwen stares at the spiders comprising her symbiote as they weave a web between her fingers, Em Jay calling out that her calling a band practice instead of missing one is a twist even if she's supposed to be "super bad and bougie" now. The four members of the Mary Janes hug each other, Betty noting that some of the Venom symbiote got on them in the process; Em Jay remarking that they're more like black gummy spiders than slime. When Em Jay asks if the symbiote is dangerous, Gwen explains that it resonates with and amplifies its host's emotions and that inputting negative emotions like rage is what causes it to become violent and corruptive. Glory and Em Jay ask why she suddenly went public with her identity, Gwen sitting on the stage and saying that while it might seem sudden to them she put a lot of thought into it. Gwen explains that her father thought that if he was honest and explained everything, people would see Spider-Woman as a good person trying to do good things; but that honesty is not the same thing as truth, and that she was afraid that her father would find out that his outlook was naive the hard way - getting up on stage only to be dismissed by the uncaring world. Em Jay asks why she'd even bother telling her side of the story if that was the case, and Gwen replies that it's because she's afraid that Murdock is right about power being corruptive and that if she's not made accountable for her misdeeds - accidental or not - it will corrupt her too. Gwen states that she hopes that the people she's affected will weigh her side of the story against theirs and be able to learn from her mistakes. Betty drags the group into another hug, Em Jay saying they're all waiting for the "but..." part of her big speech. Gwen states that the "but..." part is that Murdock stole her dimensional portal watch and can use it to go anywhere he wants in the Multiverse to make a fresh start. The Mary Janes agree that they can't let that happen and volunteer to help Gwen take him down, Gwen stating she thought they'd never ask - calling out to Reed Richards, who is setting up a sound system. Reed remarks that all systems are go, and the Mary Janes break out their instruments. Elsewhere, Murdock - covered in cuts and stabbed in the gut by a katana - cuts down a squad of Hand ninja sent to assassinate him. As he checks the sword impaling him, Venom appears out of the shadows and hisses that she'd love to rub salt in his wounds. Murdock is surprised to see her alive, Venom mockingly referencing Alanis Morissette's song "Irony". Murdock notes she's back to using first-person pronouns, and Gwen retracts her mask and points out he's the last person who should be questioning her state of mind. When Murdock quips about her obsession with him, Gwen remarks that his criminal empire is crumbling around him like a house of cards but he makes it sound like a game of 52 pick-up. Murdock mocks her smug attitude as he pulls the sword from his abdomen, stating that he could have gone anywhere he wanted with his portal watch but that he chose to stay and keep trying to teach her how power corrupts. Gwen mocks Murdock for lying to himself and secretly wanting to be stopped, for being so bored and empty that only other people's misery is interesting, and for thinking himself caged when he's the freest person in the world. Enraged, Murdock attacks her, but she easily evades and says she's done playing his games. Gwen pulls out a music player and activating it, the Mary Janes' music blaring loud enough to incapacitate Murdock and blast the symbiote from Gwen's body. As Gwen notes that it must be terrifying for him to be so overwhelmed and drowned out, Murdock threatens to kill her unless she shuts it off. Gwen admits that she too once thought she could hide behind a mask, like the backbeat in a song, but that there's no hiding from oneself. Gwen tells Murdock that in telling her that sound was the Venom symbiote's weakness he gave his own critical vulnerability away, noting that deep down he wanted her to figure that out and stop him. Turning off the music, Gwen states that the world now knows the truth about the both of them, and that her love for her friends has helped her truly tame the Venom symbiote - which she transforms into a replica of her original costume. Asking Murdock what she should do with him, she transforms her left hand back into Venom's claws and tells him to give her a reason to not end things in bloodshed. Murdock swears he'll never surrender to her or the Hand, telling her to kill him or he'll never stop tormenting her. Gwen unceremoniously takes her dimensional portal device back and tells Murdock he picked his fate before leaving him to wait for more Hand ninja to arrive. The Dollar Dog is surrounded by squads of armed police, as inside Spider-Woman and Detective Jean DeWolff sit at a booth engaged in small-talk. Jean quips that she knew Gwen was Spider-Woman the whole time and even bet on her in the office pool, telling Gwen that for what it's worth she knows her father would be proud of her. Gwen thanks DeWolff and holds out her hands, allowing the detective to place her under arrest. | Solicit = THE SECRET IS OUT! • Spider-Woman IS Gwen Stacy! • Will going public fix the timeline — and more important, will it get Gwen out from under the Kingpin’s thumb? • Or will this go as well as the last time a Spider-Person revealed his secret identity? | Notes = * Officer Richie Rogers' appearance is a continuity error, he was killed by the Kingpin in . * This issue contains a handbook entry for Spider-Girl and Spider-Max which mentions the following characters: ** Rio MoralesCategory:Rio Morales (Earth-8)/Mentions ** Mojo HarveyCategory:Mojo Harvey (Earth-8)/Mentions | Trivia = | Recommended = | Links = }} Category:Digital Comic Code included